NORTHUMBRIAN Water was fined £8,500 yesterday for polluting a beck with waste water containing more than 13 times the amount of permitted iron ore.
The company admitted two offences of allowing discharges into Scur Beck, near Lartington, in Teesdale, County Durham.
The court heard how, last February, the Environment Agency noticed the beck heavily discoloured as officials carried out routine sampling at Lartington Water Treatment plant.
Investigations revealed effluent had been discharged from a Northumbrian Water outfall pipe.
The actual cause of the incident has not been found but the company confirmed it had installed new monitoring equipment.
The court heard how, in June, further routine samples at the plant again showed excessive amounts of iron.
The company claimed it had EA permission to discharge water into the beck and said that, while levels of iron were above set standards, they were harmless.
They have since undertaken substantial work on the treatment plant to stop the problem recurring.
Northumbrian Water was fined £8,000 for the first offence and £500 for the second, and ordered to pay £1,278 costs.
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